Customer Reviews

Such a Pretty Girl

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I almost passed this book by. The topic was an awful one, and I have had to witness the effects of abuse on children. I didn't think such a topic could be pulled off at all well. But something on the back matter made me pick Pretty Girl up, made me read the first couple of pages and then buy it.

I'm glad I did. Not only did the author convey the reality of the child's suffering, she gave us the effects on the community, the relatives and others. She has portrayed a very bad situation and shown us characters who are damaged and isolated by their experience, and shown us how some of them make it through the damage and out the other side. She shows us how some do not, or can only heal part way. It's about coping. And it was done beautifully.

This is one of those books that can effect a profound change on the reader.

In SUCH A PRETTY GIRL, Laura Wiess grabbed and held my attention from the first page to the last. New Jersey teenager Meredith was supposed to have nine years of safety from her father, so she'd be eighteen and out of the house when he was released from prison. But three years later, when Meredith is fifteen, her father gets out for good behavior. No matter what he did to Meredith and to other children before her, Meredith's mother is more than ready to take him back.

Meredith isn't alone, though. She has her grandmother, the mayor of the town, who wants Meredith to move in with her to escape her father. She has Andy, her best friend, the guy she is in love with, who was also scarred by Meredith's father as a child. She has Andy's mother, who moved across the street from Meredith's family just to keep other children from the horror from which she couldn't protect Andy. She has Nigel, a retired policemen who has a plan to get Meredith's father back in jail and away from children. Even though Meredith is far from alone, she still feels that way when she can't even count on the people every kid is supposed to be able to count on: her parents.

Meredith wants to get her father back in prison. She wants her mother to go back to visiting him instead of having him in their house. She wants to be able to go into her own home without fear. She wants other kids to be safe, too. She doesn't know what that's going to take, and she's certainly not unafraid, but she isn't going to let him hurt her, or any other kids, again.

This moving, powerful novel is one that should not be missed. Once you start reading it, you won't be able to put this book down. I wasn't! It's an emotional book that is beautifully, powerfully written and unique, and it'll stay with you long past the last word.

Laura Wiess's characters are as well-written as the rest of the book, very realistic (in some cases, scarily so). They're three-dimensional characters in an equally (and, again, scarily) believable story that will certainly be a favorite of anyone who reads it. I know it's one of mine now! Don't miss this book.

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

This book deals with a young prepubescent girl's ordeal. Raped by her father, who has also diddled with other children in his care and custody, Meredith speaks out about her family's little dirty secret, against her mother's wishes. Consequently, her father is arrested, tried, convicted, and sent to prison. After only three years in prison, rather than the nine Meredith had been led to believe he would get, he is released.

The mother, besotted with her husband, and blind to her child's pain and the enormity of the crime that daddy dearest has committed against his flesh and blood, does nothing to help Meredith. Instead, she speaks inanely about their being a family again, disregarding her daughter's pain and suffering over such a concept. Meredith, now an older and wiser fifteen year old, has her own coping mechanisms that help her deal with both her mother and father's complete betrayal.

Moreover, since the mother is a total enabler, she gets him an apartment in the complex in which she and Meredith live and proceeds to invite him into their home in complete disregard of a court's directive. She does this despite the fact that one of the original arresting officers just happens to live in the complex, as well, and is well-aware of what is going on. This is where the story begins to fall apart, as the author's understanding of law enforcement and the criminal justice system with regards to pedophiles seems off the mark.

While this is an intriguing book with its up close and personal look at incest and pedophilia, it is flawed. Some of the book rings true, while some of it rings quite hollow. Consequently, there were parts that I liked and parts that I did not at all like. Overall, however, I found the writing style to be less than satisfactory, with characters that are too one dimensional and dialogue that seems forced and stilted. Still, the author is able to convey a sense of the damage that incest and sexual abuse does to a young person's psyche. For this alone, the author deserves some kudos. Unfortunately, it is not sufficient to overcome the problems that plague this book.

Despite my frustration with the blind self absorption of the heroine's mother, the damaged, yet resilient character of Meredith so engrossed me with her in-the-moment hyperawareness of her surroundings, the details of which made her so identifiable, and her perilous existence so palpably real, I was never bored for a second; but only impatient with the imperviousness of her mother to the position she thrust upon her daughter. Perhaps if there were some background psychological explanation for the mother's obsessive need to use her daughter to hold onto her husband, she might have been somewhat more pathetic and less despicable. She seems to lack any maternal instinct whatsoever.

I love this authors awareness of detail, as I experience the world much the same way, and enjoy the comfort of a character who sees, smells and feels her surroundings so vividly.

Despite the disconcerting subject matter, the author has managed to allow us to understand what has occurred, yet without any lascivious details. You feel from the beginning that it will be safe to keep reading without fear of having to endure a graphic description of a repulsive act.

This book should be required reading for troubled teenagers, who may recognize the patterns of their behavior and take some strength from this young girl's unwillingness to yield to her plight, despite her sense that she is ultimately alone in dealing with her nightmare. Such knowledge could create a more open dialog for young people who have experienced an abuser to feel less guilty for their confused feelings about people who seem to care about them but prey upon them in seclusion.

Parents and educators can also benefit from this observation of abused and abuser to heighten their vigilance in protecting their children against this disease.

This is a sad and repulsive subject matter, but abuse of children is not going away, and shedding light on the problem in this manner can only help us all recognize patterns of behavior in both abusers and abused and educate us all to be more aware of their meaning and even help some children to avoid being victimized before it happens.

It's time for parents and educators to stop protecting children from the ugly truth, and start arming them with knowledge that can keep them safe.

This had to be a dark and disturbing book to write, but I am grateful that Laura Wiess took one for the team to write it in a way that did not make me turn away, but keep reading for enjoyment and learn something while I was at it.

This story has a good premise to it,however when I was done with it there was no lasting impression for me. I think it would be a good book for early highschool age to read and discuss.

This book is a lot of things to me. Depressing, engrossing, decently written, and one dimensional. It flirts with the line that divides the emotional from the literary. The main character never really grows as a person, the "bad guy", her father, has no depth to his character and her mother even less. The role of the grandmother is simply convenient and her relationship with the boy across the way is just awkward. Meredith's experiences are painful and she spends much of her time trapped in them. It was, however, a compelling read. Once i started i couldn't stop until i found out if Meredith wins her battles. But compelling doesn't unnecessarily mean 'good'. You feel for the characters in the story in a very detached way--yes you FEEL for them, but only due to their circumstances and not necessarily because their suffering is fully explored. The subject matter appears to be the draw here. I can see why so many people enjoy this book, it certainly fills a niche of darkly themed books for young readers. This book definitely isn't for everyone but i think many people will find it enjoyable.

I finished this book in one sitting. Once I started, I was hooked. The characters feel very real and I found myself getting angry for the main character as she deals with the return of her sexually abusive father. You won't be disappointed!

I did not intend to read this whole book in one sitting, but I could not put it down! This author is very good at real life. I experienced a wealth of emotions including fury & sadness as well as some laughs here & there. This book is now added to my favorites list. I loved it!

Such a Pretty Girl, Laura Wiess' foray into teen fiction, tells the story of a survivor of sexual abuse. She thought she would be safe - at least, until she was grown up.

At the age of twelve, Meredith was a fairly well-adjusted child. Then her father did the unspeakable. Her own mother didn't believe her, choosing to side with her father, who swore he was innocent. Meredith found the courage to testify against him in court. The judge and jury put him away for nine years. She thought that she would be a high school graduate and live far away by the time he got out of jail.

After only three years in prison, Meredith's father is released early. He comes home to his loving, naive wife - and his terrified fifteen year old daughter.

Such a Pretty Girl is a darkly realistic story. One could see it as the backstory of an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but only from the victim's point of view. It moves along quite rapidly, beginning the day he comes home and ending a few days later. Due to its content, Such a Pretty Girl is recommended for mature readers.

She was promised nine years of safety, but received only three: Meridith is fifteen, living with a mother who intentionally blinds herself to the truth, and her sexually abusive father is about to be released from jail. She must find a way to protect herself from her father--and protect the other children that he may abuse in her stead. Meridith's harrowing story is compulsively readable, but it's too short and the secondary characters and plotlines don't receive enough attention. Careful flashbacks prevent the book from devolving into voyeurism, but Meridith's proactive solution to her father's abuse sets a questionable example to young adult readers. Faulted, but not a bad read, I moderately recommend this book.

At Wiess's hand, Meridith's history as a victim of child sexual abuse is rendered harrowing but never unreadable. Meredith counts wall tiles and vitamin pills, but she also willfully confronts her mother with her father's abuse: Wiess balances realistic trauma against her protagonist's fighting will, giving the dark story a sense of hope. Careful, brief flashbacks help illustrate the horror of Meredith's past without devolving into empty voyeurism. The present-day incarnation of her father is a threatening, realistic antagonist. These dark aspects pull the reader in and hold him captive, compulsively turning to the next page.

Unfortunately, not all aspects of Such a Pretty Girl are as strong as the atmosphere. The book is so fast and so short that the side stories fall forgotten at the end: Wiess introduces and builds them up, but the brief ending is reserved for Meredith, leaving side stories and themes only hastily explored. Worse and more debatable is the issue of Meredith's proactive solution to the threat posed by her father. Believing she has no other options, somewhat encourage by an adult friend, Meredith intentionally sets herself in harm's way. Such a Pretty Girl is only one character's fictional story and never intends to be instructional, but the protagonist's risk taking--especially since it has only positive consequences--sets an uncomfortable example for the reader.

Such a Pretty Girl is a dark book which is almost impossible to put down. Wiess does an admirable job building Meredith's suffering and her strength, which forgives the fact that other elements of the plot are underexplored. However, if this harrowing story is supposed to be inspiring or profound, I worry about the message that it leaves with the reader. Meredith puts herself at risk but emerges unscathed, and the possible grave consequences are nearly unmentioned. If the text discussed the risks or had less of a positive conclusion, I may not feel so hesitant recommending it. As it is, I think that the book needs to be taken with a grain of salt, and I recommend it only moderately--it is compulsively readable with a well-handled atmosphere, but Such a Pretty Girl has its faults.